Deceptive Reflection
by Riquashea
Summary: Kanami Hisakawa, an ANBU without a team, a lion without a pride. The hospital was cold. Stark whiteness attacked her from every angle. The generic sheets seemed to grate against her skin, leaving wounds unseen. The ANBU ward was silent. Nothing to distract her from Homare's chest caving in or Setsuka's abrupt silence when her throat was suddenly not as whole as it should have been.
1. Chapter 1

Three days. It's been three days since her friends died. Kanami Hisakawa was an ANBU without a team, a lion without a pride. The hospital was cold. Stark whiteness attacked her from every angle. The generic sheets seemed to grate against her skin, leaving wounds unseen. The ANBU ward was silent. Nothing to distract her from Homare's chest caving in or Setsuka's abrupt silence when her throat was suddenly not as whole as it should have been. Those moments were forever engraved into her mind, by a dojutsu that should not have existed. Kanami Hisakawa developed her Sharingan at the age of twenty-four.

It's been three days.

Her friends are dead. 

The knock that came on the fourth day was expected, if unwelcome. The man that entered however, was unexpected. There at Kamani's door stood the God of Shinobi. The third Hokage. He graced her with a smile that was more grimace than anything else and closed the door behind him. The brunette stifled a laugh, she'd probably start crying, the illusion of privacy had no hold over her. No less than three people in the room were ANBU and visible persons weren't counted.

"I thought it best if you gave your mission report to me in person Hisakawa-san." Kanami nodded and froze as even that small motion made her want to kill every person in the room. Sarutobi-sama simply sighed and sat next to her bed. His hands lay folded on his lap, unassuming, deadly. With one stroke of his hand he killed all she ever cared about. Homare and Setsuka. Tiger and Panther. This man had their blood on his hands. But so did she.

She started her report.

"Six days ago, ANBU team Ko, commonly referred to as Team Neko, departed from Konoha to infiltrate the fire country's capitol. Our mission objective was to ensure that the Daimyo's nephew could not attempt a rebellion in effort to achieve political power." The Hokage leaned forward, adjusting himself in the uncomfortable wooden chair.

"Yes, your team's messenger hawks relayed that you had successfully entered the capitol and that you were going to eliminate your target early that morning. That is all we know of it Hisakawa-san. What changed?" Kanami's hands were still. She inhaled deeply, shivering.

"Nothing. Panther took out the guard while Homare cast a mid-level Genjutsu over the corridor. I killed the target and we extracted from the palace without incident. It was only as we were returning that we were intercepted." The third's brow furrowed as he frowned.

"By whom?" Her nails pierced the flesh of her palms.

"The snake." She stated, calmly. The disgust inside of her was sharp, carving out her heart, carving out everything she loved. "Orochimaru. He caught us off guard. Tiger was hit first," collapsing lungs, his spine never stood a chance, "then Panther," her scream almost makes it louder than a whisper, "I couldn't manage to avoid that damn sword!" Kanami freezes. The room is too bright. She can see the dust on the window sill. She covers her face with her hands. Tears don't come.

Sarutobi places a hand on her shoulder. She hunches further into herself, trying to disappear.

"May I see them, Hisakawa-san?" Such a nice way for a murderer to phrase an order. The brunette opens her eyes. As she lowers her hands the kunoichi turns toward her Hokage.

There the man sat in perfect detail. Every wrinkle, every dust mote, even the oils leaking out of his skin. She could see everything. Kanami could predict the shift in each muscle as the third Hokage's eyes widened just so. She already knew what he saw. She remembered it perfectly from the reflection when Orochimaru plunged his sword into her chest. Blood red irises, three tomoe in each eye. Somewhere along the line, an Uchiha was missed. Somehow, it didn't mature until she was twenty-four.

"Are you able to deactivate them?" Kanami shivered. Imagined closing her eyes without physically doing so. The world became dull. Her real eyes were back, the other ones didn't count.

"What's going to happen Hokage-sama?" She knew. It's what she expected. Kanami would be wed off to the highest bidder and the expectation of children would be shoved so far down her throat there would be no other option. Just because she was in the hospital doesn't mean she can't hear people without enough sense to whisper. She was gutted, not deaf.

"The doctors expect you to fully heal in about two weeks so bedrest until then, but after that…" Kanami barely held back a wince as he stood. Here he is, about to sign her death sentence. "After that I imagine you will do as you please. Whether that means active duty, retirement, or whatever you so choose." The kunoichi's head snapped up. Wonder was obvious on her face.

"Really?" The third smiled down at her.

"Really." 

A week and a half passed in a blur. Physical therapy, nutrient shakes, and staring out her window mostly. The third had come by and talked to Kanami twice since she was left in her medically necessary prison. Once to check how her healing was going, the other to inform her of the legal position she now held. Since she was a full blooded Uchiha and the eldest of any Uchiha left alive, clan matters would fall to her. Even though there wasn't even a clan anymore. Just that academy kid and the traitor who massacred the rest.

As one of the founding clans of Konoha the Uchiha automatically held a seat in the Clan Council but seeing as no one even knew of her until now, records and reputation would have to be put into play. Kanami already had two problems. First, she didn't even know if any records of her birth existed. She was an orphan, raised in the Konoha Family Home like every other orphan out there. Second, she had been in ANBU for the past decade, her only friends died seventeen days ago. The kunoichi looked up from the cloth she was rubbing against her face and into the mirror.

She tosses the cloth aside in frustration at the lack of answers her reflection provides and turns back to her adjoined room. Pausing when she sees a man by her window. He was taller than her by half a foot, sandy brown hair was close cut to his head, and his clothes were standard ANBU tactical gear. Breath hitching, Kanami touched his arm. Urging him to turn around. He did.

Homare stared back at the brunette, smile wide. The blue gray eyes he shared with his father spoke of a secret only he was privy to. Kanami shivered. The image fell. In its place stood the reality. His chest full of the debris that was once his body. Blood leaking from his mouth. Blue gray eyes. The hand on her shoulder was pale. Small and deceptively thin. Scarred from years of messing around with kunai. Her team. Her Setsuka.

Don'tturnarounddont'tdoityouknowwhat'sthereDON'T!

She turns.

Wakes up.

It's been eighteen days since her friends died.


	2. Chapter 2

Thunder woke Kanami on the twenty second day. Looking out her window, the sky churned. Rain, heavy and unrelenting, poured down from the sky. The brunette sat up and turned to her bedside table, untied dark hair brushing against her elbow. The photo stared back. Kanami went back to sleep.

* * *

On day twenty-five Kanami woke up panting from the worst dream she had yet. Sweat stuck the shirt to her back and made it impossible to go back to sleep. Shifting off of the bed, the hard wood floor was warm and solid against her feet. Sedately, Kanami walked into the adjoining bathroom. The light flicked on without a fight. She glanced at herself in the mirror. Greasy dark brown hair and a pale, blank face stared back.

This had gone on long enough.

Kanami carefully folded the massive shirt and shucked off her underwear. She twisted the shower knob to full blast. Steam billowed as she immersed herself under the water. Rivulets ran against her skin turning it red. Backing out of the stream Kanami grabbed the purple shower gel off the top level of her hanging shower shelf. The scent of sandalwood filled the room as she reveled in lathering off days of staying inside. The sound of water occupied her mind, allowing no other thoughts.

The shampoo bottle at her feet was a pastel yellow, contrasting gently against white tile floor of her shower. Kanami squeezed way too much of the sticky liquid straight onto her head and tried to balance it as she bent down to replace the bottle. Her deft hands made quick work of the lemon shampoo, rapidly amassing a huge amount of bubbles onto her head. She stepped back into the stream. The water raced against her scalp and the rest of her body, clearing away the suds.

She stared silently as they washed down the drain.

* * *

As Kanami walked out of her bathroom the afternoon sunlight greeted her from the small crack in her heavy curtains. The brunette gave her damp hair one last shake with a towel and dumped both it and her robe into her hamper. Methodically, the kunoichi dressed in her training gear. A long-sleeved mesh shirt and dark gray pants were followed by a lightly padded black flak jacket with straps sewn on the back for her tanto. Kanami's hair, wrangled into a high pony tail, was brushed aside as her black forehead protector was tied into place. She stepped towards her front door where her silver tanto was waiting alongside her boots. She strapped on both items with textbook efficiency and opened her door. Kanami hesitated for a second and took a deep breath. It wasn't as if closing her door was the hardest thing she'd ever done.

But it sure seemed like it. She forced herself to engage the chakra lock and let go. The brunette briefly deliberated between the elevator and stairs, eventually deciding her usual route was the better option. Each step down from the third floor was familiar, something she'd done a thousand times. Being outside was easier after that. The hubbub of Konoha's populace engulfed Kanami, pulling her along towards ANBU headquarters. As she walked, many of the shopkeepers who recognized her waved or shouted a quick hello. She returned their greetings but didn't stop.

The sun was setting by the time she reached the halfway point to the training grounds. A quick detour to a mochi stand gifted her with something to do with her hands. The chewy snack was still warm and the bean paste smooth against her tongue. It was leagues better than the dry bread she'd eaten for the past few days. She'd have to go back sometime.

ANBU headquarters wasn't exactly hidden, just out of the way so to speak. If what you call out of the way is inside a mountain with a bunch of the most powerful people in the world's faces on them. She rolled up her opaque mesh sleeve, revealing the swirled red mark tattooed there. Chameleon, the visible guard at the southern entrance today, huffed. The Kunoichi raised an eyebrow.

Chameleon tilted his head, motioning to her face with his hand.

"Your mask Hisakawa-san." Kanami's smile froze as she looked at him.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay with my tattoo today." He was silent for a moment, then nodded in acquiescence.

Walking through the door to headquarters made her skin tingle every time. The entire perimeter was guarded by a chakra shield, similar to the one around the village proper. Each ANBU's tattoo and mask was keyed with a specific signal that granted them access. Chameleon was a frequent guard due to his sensing ability. She was lucky he was posted today. Kanami had been in ANBU since she was fourteen, and was a damn good shinobi, but it was her mask people remembered. Not her face.

Headquarters was, frankly, huge. You had to take an elevator to go from bottom to top in at least two minutes. The hallways, main corridor, and announcement area were all lit by the same pale blue lighting. The main corridor led in a full circle around the entire complex. Hallways branched off leading to different sections denoted by number. Those hallways eventually led the large central announcement are. An easy system to memorize. The indoor ANBU training grounds were at the center of the complex, at the top floor. They had learned from the last time someone had miscalculated the blast radius of their Jutsu. It would be just a few rocks raining down from the high ceiling, not the floors above them.

The brunette headed toward the elevator, passing two ANBU, a man and a woman in shiny freshly painted masks. They stopped talking when they saw her, staring at her bare face in curiosity. Kanami just bowed shallowly and walked past them. She struggled not to sigh as they started whispering behind her.

"What's with her? She doesn't wear a mask?"

"Idiot, she's probably a medic or something!"

Kanami turned when she got into the elevator, holding the door for an ANBU she recognized. The blonde looked at anywhere but Kanami, her bear mask hiding the smile the brunette was sure the taller woman wore. After a few seconds of silence, it was broken with a mutter.

"Newbies."

The statement startled a bark of laughter from Kanami. The rest of the ride was spent in a familiar silence. Bear got off two floors before Kanami's stop, bowing before walking away. The two kunoichi had known each other for a long time. Bear used to be her commanding officer before the brunette was promoted to squad leader two years into her career. She had heard the blonde took a job as chief of the armory. It suited her.

When the elevator stopped at the top floor Kanami headed quickly for one of the small training rooms. No point in reserving a giant space when she wasn't going to use any elemental techniques.

The lights above many of the doors were red, occupied. Usually more were open but the pale woman could deal with a little walking. As she was walking to the next hallway, an ANBU wearing a (spider?) mask exited his room. Kanami turned and nodded politely, entering when he held the door for her to enter.

A control panel greeted her by the door. The three circular dimmers for light level were for specific conditions: North to South, East to West, and brightness. The occupancy switch was small with only a red or green option, and there was button for an emergency medic. Kanami flipped the switch to red and turned the lights so they mimicked noon on a sunny day. The room was fairly big. Curved, more like a rounded rectangle than anything else, and had a tall ceiling about fifteen feet high. The southernmost part of the room was rough, rocky and pockmarked from those who had trained there before her. The floor was scuffed but smooth. All in all, it was a good basic training ground.

The kunoichi started with sprints. Stretching out muscles that had been neglected for days. The scar tissue in her chest pulled whenever she abruptly turned or stopped on the ceiling but it wasn't too bad considering how the injury originated. Her sprints soon turned to reps, slow and deliberately straining each part of her body. From standing on her hands on the ground to climbing the rocky south wall without chakra, she harshly expended the energy she had saved.

By the time she finished the warm up Kanami was starting to sweat. Unacceptable but expected once taking her injury and lack of exercise into consideration. But now her real training would begin.

As she did only twice before, Kanami imagined pulling back a second pair of eyelids that no one could see. She almost expected to fail before the room was suddenly a lot brighter and more detailed than before. Every mark that was made, she could tell what direction it came from. Each scuff was an obvious story of force, material, and motion.

The Sharingan. If she ever wanted to make having it worthwhile, she would have to learn how to use it. Easy to say, not so easy to do. Kanami had a fair amount of assumptions not enough certainties.

"Let's fix that." She muttered.

Kanami pulled out her tanto, sheath sliding against the smooth metal, and started katas. She needed to think.

First, it can copy stuff. That was obvious from all the gossip about the Uchiha and the rumors having to do with Hatake-san. Techniques was frequently mentioned, but movements were too. She'd have to test it out later. The kunoichi kept her breathing even as she transitioned to a new, more difficult set.

Second was reaction time. Kanami could remember the Uchiha clan, the massacre hadn't been that long ago. She'd worked with many of them and every time she'd been surprised at their natural speed and grace. You'd have to try hard to surprise even a chunin of that clan, their instincts with the Sharingan were ridiculously fast. That was the extent of her knowledge. Just two guesses supported by rumors and the chunin gossip ladder. Damn. Kanami huffed in frustration.

She had switched into a low stance as she thought, gliding along the floor as her tanto whirled through the air. Deadly in its grace. The calm lasted for about two more seconds before a man came crashing through the wall to her right. Kanami had startled out of her stance, grip on her tanto tightening. She opened her mouth to ask if he was alright, before she froze. In the settling dust, a figure was walking towards her with a sword in hand. His long hair swayed as he walked.

She froze. Shivered.

* * *

The woman goes for Yugao's throat, radiating killing intent that forces the swordswoman to leap back. The other kunoichi is short, but fast. Her reach doesn't matter with speed like that. Yugao crouches. Stumbles from an abrupt episode of vertigo. The swordswoman pulses her chakra. Is met with the blade of the tanto close to her face. Yugao shifts. The tanto passes her head leaving the brunette over reaching. Yugao goes to slash with her blade but rears back as she looks at the smaller woman's face. Sharingan eyes, but unfocused. Tears streaming down her face, but silent. The woman (Uchiha? What the fuck?) switches her grip and swings the tanto wildly. It barely catches the edge of Yugao's jaw, colliding with her mask. The porcelain falls and just as Yugao is about to start a jutsu, the brunette falls to the ground, unconscious. Daiki stands behind her, arm still poised from where it was used to knock the woman out.

"What the hell was that?" His voice is gravelly, both from surprise and his trip through the wall. Yugao shakes her head and sheathes her sword, bending down to pick up her mask.

"I don't think she was fully there." She practically hears Daiki raising his eyebrow.

"What do you mean Capitan?" The swordswoman ties the mask firmly. Then turns to the other woman. Her breathing is steady and she doesn't seem injured. In fact, she's rather pretty when she wasn't trying to murder someone.

"Flashback Daiki, she's ANBU and was attacking indiscriminately. We should talk to the Commander."

"Shouldn't we wait for her to wake up?" Yugao shakes her head.

"If I know one thing about ANBU, it's that we're impossible in admitting when we need help." The duo makes their way to the door, unconscious woman between them, and head to the medic stationed at the end of the hall.

Yugao had worked with Lion and her team before. The trio were one of the best teams to ever go through the organization. Lion was a good leader, and frankly Yugao was worried. (She had a bit of a bleeding heart.) The woman had been out of contact with everyone Yugao had seen her interact with. Now she had experienced an intense flashback that blinded her to reality. It was time to get her help.

* * *

Kanami woke up in a snap. The cot underneath her smelled of antiseptic and cotton, was rough in the way all shinobi cloth was. She was in the med bay of ANBU. Kanami sat up and felt herself over for any injuries. Nothing. Actually, she probably felt better than she had for a while.

"Lion." A deep voice pulled her attention up. There, in his tan overcoat and painted dog mask, was the ANBU Commander. Kanami scrambled to stand at attention. He folded his hands behind his back. She stared.

"Do you know why you're here?" Kanami tried to think of an answer without being obvious but failed utterly. He pointed to the bed. "Sit." She sat.

The commander took two steps away from the cot before turning back and stopping at the edge. He gripped the rail attached to the end and bent his head forward.

"It has been decided that as of this moment you are being released from ANBU duty." Kanami froze. The words replayed over and over in her mind. Released from duty. She was being fired?

"Why?" The question came out like a croak, heavy and broken. The commander looked over her and stood straight. He seemed to deliberate something. The moment was still.

"Hyena and Jackal brought you in after an intense flashback episode. Hyena was knocked through a wall. Jackal went to check his condition and, mistaking her identity through the thick dust cloud, you went for the kill. If Hyena didn't knock you out, it could have been much worse. You need to heal. Somewhere away from ANBU, from the memories. This is not punishment. This is for your own good." The man turned to walk out of the room but only got a few steps away before Kanami choked out a response.

"But ANBU is all I have left! Please! Commander!" He stopped. Looked back.

"Find something else."

He closed the wooden door closed behind him, revealing a clock on the wall.

It's been twenty-six days since her friends died.


	3. Chapter 3

The Twenty-eighth day. Getting out of bed was both easy and hard for Kanami. Nightmares always came, each more debilitating than the last. The gore didn't bother her, it never had, but seeing _them_ , that was the hardest part. Being awake was a relief, trying to experience life outside her head was unsettling. Everywhere she went, there was the constant sensation of wrongness. There had been people where there wasn't anymore.

She tried not to think about them, which was impossible. Even Kanami's most mundane routines, like the sweeping she was doing now, had involved them. Homare and Setsuka were part of her soul. They hadn't met as a genin team, Kanami had been an apprentice and her friends had both been two years older than her anyway. Team Ko had been created about a year after the treaty with Kumo had been signed. Kanami, Homare, and Setsuka had been an immediate response team, each specializing in Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu, respectively.

They hadn't left each other's sides for a long time.

The kunoichi wasn't sure what to do with herself. The Hokage hadn't been any help, he had the final say about ANBU personnel. The commander's words had been reinforced strongly by the politician. She was to find something else to attach herself to. That wasn't going to be an easy task. Almost ten years in ANBU had radically cut down the activities Kanami was involved in. If the kunoichi wanted something to do, she would train.

The brunette had been training ever since she knew what training was. She was a smart kid, but she had trained hard all the same. It was the only thing that the mistress at the orphanage would accept as an excuse for not interacting with the other kids her age. Kanami's dedication had been noticed at the academy. It was hard to not to when a five-year-old read every book in the library and trounced her older peers in Taijutsu practice. Kanami had stayed about a year and a half before she had decided that enough was enough and demanded to graduate. At six she had become a genin, that's when she met her sensei.

The woman had been gorgeous, silky raven hair, smooth skin, Kanami had been awed. In the face of her muscles and rough around the edges six-year-old self, her Sensei was the kind of kunoichi she had wanted to be. Stuff like polite, softly spoken, skilled, were constant phrases thrown around about her late sensei. All were true of course but most people hadn't been trained by the woman.

Natsumi Hyuga as a teacher was difficult to describe. Strict wasn't the exact term, neither was sadistic. More like, a perfectionist. Yeah that was better. Natsumi-sensei was a stout perfectionist. Every skill had to be up to snuff. From the academy basics to Kanami's instinctive use of her fire natured chakra. The brunette was sure, ten out of ten, that even the people that were friendly with her Sensei never would have guessed that she was the one who taught Kanami how to scorch people's chakra paths. Or the best way to shove her tanto, a gift from Natsumi-sensei herself, into their unprotected flesh at high speed. Even the way Kanami dressed or stood was completely retaught. Which made sense considering the other woman was the matriarch of the Hyuga clan.

Kanami sighed, leaning on the dustpan. Her sensei had passed away in from the stress of her second childbirth some years ago, the brunette used to go to her grave on the anniversary every year. Maybe she should start again? A glance at the calendar, October 1st, and the clock, 10:22 AM, made her decision easy. She'd finished sweeping a while ago, she was just being anal retentive now.

The temperature had risen into the, be in shade when your outside, territory the past few days, so Kanami's exasperation was totally justified when she walked outside and felt that a cold front had settled. Her shorts and sleeveless vest were pretty much useless but the kunoichi wasn't concerned. She was known for her fire jutsu after all. Raising her body temperature was something she'd figured out long before her genin days, the orphanage was an older building and that meant less insulation. Kentsu wasn't even really a jutsu, Kanami had just realized that activating her fire natured chakra and circulating it inside her body was an easy way to warm up. Basically, she shivered with her chakra.

The walk towards the cemetery was long and the memories came unbidden. Life with her sensei had been fierce. Perfect posture while avoiding kunai, flawless hand signs under pain of having to wear a kimono while practicing, helping deliver her child. Kanami smiled. That unofficial mission had been stressful. Sensei's husband had been completely useless. The normally calm Hiashi Hyuga had bumbled around totally getting in the way until the midwife, Natsumi-sensei's aunt, kicked him out. Hinata-chan was not an easy child to deliver for her sensei, but the girl herself had been shaping up to be mild tempered the last time the brunette had seen her. About, wow how long had it been?

Hinata-chan was born in December, Kanami had seen her on her birthday the next year, then there was that foolishness with Kumo and their attempted bloodline theft. The kunoichi suppressed a growl. That incident had been unacceptable. Good thing Kanami had managed to not melt his face off, that had barely been resolved without the total dissolution of the treaty.

Damn, was that actually it? No, she'd visited until Natsumi had given birth to Hanabi-chan, but that was it really. The brunette nodded to herself. She'd visit this week; a godmother couldn't just abandon her duties after all.

The cemetery was on the outskirts of the village, separated from everything else. Kanami stopped at the small Yamanaka flower shop to buy a mix of red and pink carnations then walked the familiar path to her sensei's grave. Honestly Natsumi-sensei was the closest person to a mother Kanami had ever had. The Hyuga taught her pretty much everything a socially stunted orphan could ever want to know. How to conduct herself in social situations, how to speak, how to eat, how much force was needed to drive a kunai through a man's skull. All the basics. Kanami had taken two-week long leave to mourn, it was lucky she never used her vacation days.

The headstone had been cleaned recently, leaving it almost reflective in the morning light. The woman replaced the wilting sunflowers in the small vase and bowed her head. She didn't pray, or speak. Natsumi-sensei didn't approve of mumbling to oneself. It was rude. All was quiet at her teacher's grave, peaceful. Nothing like the loud dark place Kanami's mind had been lately. It was only through intense disassociation that she was stable. Homare wouldn't have approved.

Her teammate had met her sensei only once. There was none of that odd behavior that civilians had towards Rai, ninken were partners not pets. The two shinobi had actually gotten along better than Kanami could've expected. Really the only difference was that Inuzuka were pack more than family, whenever the clan head position was available they just had a massive battle royal, and the Hyuga were definitely more formal.

Especially with that branch member nonsense. Along with that incident with the Kumo diplomat little Neji-chan had been branded with the branch house seal. It wasn't exactly correct that Natsumi-sensei pitched a fit, more like the elders just hadn't called a council session for a while afterwards. Her Sensei truly was a force to be reckoned with. Which reminded her, she was supposed to go to her final hospital appointment today. Here's to hoping she's not very late.

* * *

"You are an hour late Hisakawa-san." Kanami winced. The nurse shook her head, green smock bunching around her crossed arms and sighed. "Well it's not like I'm not used to it from shinobi, don't make a habit of it." Nurse Kawasaki activated her diagnostic jutsu, running a hand above Kanami's healed torso. "You were very lucky that your jutsu cauterized some of the damage. Otherwise there's no doubt you'd be dead." The brunette winced again.

It was true. She'd automatically spit a fuck-ton of fire as a defense mechanism. It was only because he'd missed her spine that she lived long enough to turn everything in that clearing to ash, consequently passing out on embers that left a nasty series of burns but kept her from bleeding out. It was due to that and to another squad with a medic passing by that saved her life.

Kanami had been told that the medic had completed emergency surgery on her in the field and one of the others had run for hours to deliver her to the hospital. She didn't know which squad it was. She also didn't know if she wanted to thank them, or curse them.

"Turn on those eyes of yours, let's make sure they're not harming your chakra system." The brunette complied, this time not having to think about the activation.

"Hmm." Kanami focused onto the med-nin. She had migrated to the brunette's neck, brushing her long hair out of the way to get a clear view.

"What is it?" Silence. "Kawasaki-san?" Now she was getting worried. Maybe they'd missed something, spines were important. She'd broken a lot of them to know. Kanami tried to turn but was pushed back around by a firm hand.

"Have you always had this seal on your neck?" Kanami's head whipped around, eyes wide. The dojutsu allowing her to memorize Kawasaki's face. "I'm going to take that as a no." Shit. Fuck. What the hell? Fuck. Where in the shit did a fucking seal come from? "It's not very complicated, it's also inactive by the way."

"Inactive or destroyed seals don't stay visible. Once the chakra dissipates, that's it." The other woman snorted.

"Well it seems someone was clever enough to link it with your chakra system, specifically your optic nerve." Kanami bent her head, mind racing. She'd have to have been really young for something like that. Kawasaki moved in front of Kanami writing notes down on her clipboard. "You're in good health otherwise. Right now, it's not doing you any harm. It actually gets weaker when you turn them on." Kawasaki crossed her arms.

"The chakra moving through the base of your neck is, in summary, burning it out." Kanami stared at the nurse, a little dumb founded. The blue-eyed woman smiled gently, tucking her pen inside her shirt pocket. "I'm no Jiraiya, but as of now it's just a weird tattoo." The nurse exited the examination room, leaving Kanami to ruminate on the new discovery.

She jumped off of the examination table and stood in front of the small mirror above the sink. It took some twisting, but she finally got a good look at the surprise addition to her body. The red from her Sharingan took a minute to ignore but eventually she could focus enough on the tiny squiggles by her hairline.

"That is not good." The seal was hard to describe. Like a mixture of the caged bird seal and an enclosing seal. On the top of her neck was a swirled matrix enclosing two x's. Whatever it was did not bode well. Judging from how it disappeared when she deactivated the Sharingan, the relation of her optic nerve was intentional. Kanami preferred not to believe in coincidences, especially ones that fit into a pattern.

The fact that this was broken at her near death and coinciding with the release of the Sharingan was very telling. Kanami could identify seals but that's about it. If she didn't know what the caged bird seal was she'd be out of luck completely. The kunoichi's walk out of the examination room was silent.

Someone tried to stop the manifestation of her Sharingan, the placement on her spine indicated intentional placement from someone with an education on the human body. At that thought Kanami's stomach growled. Enough thinking. Time for lunch.

* * *

Shinobi tea houses differed from civilian ones. In a shinobi oriented tea house, you were hosted by someone you knew. It was a thoroughly bad idea to make something edible for a shinobi you didn't know. New patrons were greeted by Raina-san, the proprietress, on the first visit which was kept short as it usually consisted of introductions. The next visits were to find a host the shinobi clicked with. After that the shinobi came whenever it suited them. Raina's tea house was permanently fully staffed so finding your host was never a problem.

The tea house she'd gone to was pretty much decided on instinct. It wasn't glamorous or strictly traditional, but young people definitely didn't go there to hang out with friends. The woman rinsed her hands and bowed lowly before entering through the sliding door. Naomi-san, daughter of the proprietress, was the host who greeted Kanami, leading the kunoichi to one of the private tea rooms.

They each sat in seiza, Kanami relaxing while Naomi started preparations.

"You haven't been around for a while Kanami-san. Have you been doing alright?" Naomi had been her host since Natsumi-sensei had first recommended the house to her. They had seen each other infrequently ever since missions picked up so it was good to see the younger girl. Bad topic of conversation or not.

"I was severely injured on a mission about a month ago and the rest of my team died." Naomi, professional to her core, continued with her preparations not even missing a beat. When she set the water aside to boil on the hearth, the amber haired girl reached forward and gently clasped Kanami's scarred, calloused hands in between her own.

"My condolences." Naomi bent her head, reciting a short prayer and looked back up at her. "Inuzuka-san and Kuroki-san were wonderful ninja." Kanami smiled sadly.

"Yes, they were." Naomi looked intently at Kanami for a moment before turning back to the hearth. They were silent until the kettle at Naomi's side started to whine. She skillfully set to preparing the tea. "Are you keeping busy Kanami-san? With a grievous injury I would assume you're on leave." Kanami nodded, still settled in her seiza.

"I have tried to train with a new technique I have acquired but that has led to nowhere. I did visit Sensei's grave today and I expect to visit my god daughter soon." Naomi smiled as she stirred.

"Oh yes, how old is Hinata-chan now?" Kanami glanced to the side, trying to remember.

"It'd have to be almost ten years ago now that it's October, her birthday is in December so she's coming up on that milestone very fast." A sweet scent filled the room. Naomi slid Kanami her cup and she grasped it gratefully, taking a sip of the delicious green and herbal blend. The kunoichi's eyes meet Naomi's, shared in the conspiracy hidden there. Raina-san would be furious.

"How exciting! I wish her the very best." Kanami bows smiling widely as Natsu copies her from the other tatami mat.

"Thank you." Naomi rises from her bow, ready to clean the room, but finds her friend in still bowing in front of her. "Thank you." Kanami repeats. The brunette felt soft hands on her shoulders and looked up. Naomi smiled, tears in her eyes.

"I will light incense for them in the front parlor." Kanami stills then nods, hiding the grateful smile, and frustratingly watery eyes.

* * *

She walked the long way home. Winding around the people that constantly flood Konoha's streets. Her team had been to every single one of the restaurants on that street. Kanami couldn't help but sink further into the memories.

Homare could pack away a truly astonishing amount of food. Mostly seasoned meat. Setsuka just picked at whatever healthy monstrosity she'd ordered. Kanami had laughed at both of them, boasting at the superiority of bread and sweets. There had been many times that Setsuka attempted to feed Kanami vegetables of any kind. Those attempts had always failed.

Homare, in his secret wisdom, just seasoned her bread and fruit with nutrient powder packs. He was the one that made their bentos after all. Kanami sighed, the memories were surely going to give her nightmares. A hawk above her cawed. Kanami glanced up at the familiar pattern of circling. Hokage summons.

The kunoichi walked to the tower, the third could wait.

The Hokage tower was actually a part of the complex where each Hokage resided, only a few blocks from the academy and ANBU headquarters for that matter. The tea house was situated on the main stretch of road that merchants set up shop. As Kanami walked, men and women shouted advertisements, discounts, calling to the faces they'd memorized. The kunoichi breathed in the scents, listening to the cacophony of life surrounding her. There was a tug on her vest.

The brunette looked down, meeting the gaze of a little boy.

"Miss, buy fruit!" Kanami blinked at the boy and raised her gaze to the small wooden produce stand he pointed to. Again, she met the gaze of a child. More like a teen, Kanami reevaluated. The boy tugged her vest insistently towards the stand. Kanami followed, curious.

The teen, a girl with the same green eyes of the boy, straightened at her approach. The stand was neatly organized, displaying a large array of fruits and vegetables. Squash, tomatoes, onions of many variations, and there were at least ten different kinds of fruit. There was a lot for such a small stand.

"Hello!" The girl squeaked out. Kanami raised an eyebrow and the girl blushed.

"The boy said to buy fruit, why should I?" The girl looked confused, glancing behind herself where Kanami spied a blanket with a few toys in the dirt. She whipped around, panicking for half a second before spotting the boy at the kunoichi's side.

"Ichiro! I told you to stay behind the stand." The girl scolded the boy, then sighed. "I am so sorry." She bowed. Kanami tilted her head and repeated her question. The girl rose, looking confused. "I don't understand?" Bending, the brunette picked up the toddler.

"I ask because the produce at your stand was advertised to me. Give me a reason to buy your product over the others being offered and I will do so." The boy in her arms started sucking on his thumb. The teen straightened and took a breath.

"Our fruits and vegetables are fresher than any of the merchants trying to sell similar products. We live and farm only a mile outside the Village, and we sell only the best out of the harvest." Kanami glances over the selection then back up at the girl.

"I'll take two of everything."

Eventually Kanami arrived at the tower, she passed unbothered through the halls. Only the security check point on the third floor impeded her progress. The tower was full of familiar people. Familiar to Lion at least. Pretty much none of the people in the administration complex knew Kanami Hisakawa. She received a few curious stares on her way up but no one tried to talk to her.

Kanami sat in the antechamber of the Hokage's office for only a minute before she was called by the young secretary to enter. The woman sent her a small scowl, justified. Kanami was late. The door of the office was silent as she entered. The kunoichi saw a small profile turn, her eyes widened with controlled shock. Rising from one of the chairs in front of the Hokage's desk was Sasuke Uchiha. The kid looked half confused and half pout that was probably supposed to be indifference. The third stood and motioned her closer. Kanami walked until she was standing right beside the kid.

She had a bad feeling about this. Yeah that's definitely nausea.

"Sasuke this is Kanami Hisakawa." Sasuke's face showed exactly what he was thinking. Why should he care? The third smiled and suddenly Kanami felt very cold. That was the gentle smile of a man about to raze a world to the ground.

"We have discovered that you are not the last Uchiha."


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke was, in a word, dumbfounded after the Hokage's declaration. Not the last? Could he have a relative wandering around somewhere? What did the woman next to him, whoever she was, have to do with anything? Sasuke turns to the her, about to demand answers but instinctually takes a step back when he sees her face. Her features are frozen, but her eyes blazed. The Sharingan seemed to leap out of the woman's pale face, adding to her already dangerous demeanor. Sasuke feels helpless. He was going to die. She'd rip him open, let his blood run all over the floor just like Itachi. Itachi with his horrible Sharingan. Sasuke's mind falters. The Sharingan? He's on the floor. Staring at the ceiling. Falling at the blast of, he didn't know what to call that horrible feeling. Certain death? The woman blinks and the tension in the room disappears. Sasuke turns to her and gasps. Two masked shinobi are on either side of the brunette woman. The taller shinobi grips her hair while the other holds the sharp side of a katana to her neck. Her dark eyes flick to meet Sasuke's before she turns fully to face him.

"Not even I knew of the blood between us." Sasuke's brow twitches. The Hokage sighs, waving the masked shinobi away. They exit silently, giving one pointed look towards the kunoichi before closing the door. Sasuke shakily stands, harboring a newly born respect for the woman who didn't even flinch with a sword at her neck.

"Sasuke-kun, Hisakawa-san just recently awakened her Sharingan on a mission. No one knew she was of Uchiha origin. Please be certain that we would have told you-"

"What of my wishes?" The woman's gaze is steady on Sasuke, not even glancing at the third. "Am I supposed to sit by and cater to the whims of politicians? Sandaime, you know that won't end well for anybody involved." Sasuke's mind races in comprehension. There was some kind of political investment the third was trying to enforce.

Sasuke may have been young but he wasn't stupid. The Uchiha were entrenched in village politics, when there still was a clan. Now that a kid wasn't the only Uchiha, people in high places were starting to sniff around.

"Kanami-san you know the situation." She glares and Sasuke follows suit. Neither of them want to be pieces in someone's power play.

"Greedy manipulations are all I see." It's like a ping pong match, back and forth between the third and the woman beside him. The nine-year-old silently cheers the woman on. He's not nearly as brave as she is to say something like that to the Hokage's face. Sure, civilians or idiotic classmates but the Hokage?

"You have a duty to your clan.'

"I am not an Uchiha!" The statement echoes through the room, freezing Sasuke in place. She whirls around to face him. "I am an orphan! Do not pin any kind of hopes on me, Sasuke, they would be gravely misplaced!"

"I'm an orphan too!" The outburst is ripped from his mouth, he's helpless. There's blood between them but no bond. They are strangers of the worst kind. She says not to pin hopes but all Sasuke has to choose from is a stranger, a traitor, and himself. Kanami Hisakawa is by far the best option.

The Hokage rubs his forehead. "That is enough. No matter your protests, you are an Uchiha Kanami-san." She tries to speak but he silences the brunette with a raised hand. "You both are the only family each other have, whether you like it or not. From this moment on you act as family. Kanami-san, Sasuke will move into your apartment, and you will accompany him every day to and from the academy." Sasuke is indignant.

"I don't need someone to babysit me! I've been fine on my own!" The woman nods from beside him.

"Yeah he's fine on his own." They talk over each other, trying to gain some kind of control over the change in their lives but they are each ignored. It's only a few seconds in that a great tension comes over the room, stopping their protests. The Hokage is angry, and looks every inch like the war hardened shinobi that he is.

"This is not optional. Go, I will send a genin team to move Sasuke's possessions." They're in shock, unreactive as both are ushered outside the office. Sasuke scoffs, trying to shake the weird feeling of seeing the normally grandfatherly third look so dangerous.

"Your first time?" The woman starts walking down the corridor, to the stairs. Sasuke barely thinks before he follows.

"What?" She looks back at him, brows angrily knit together but there's an amused tilt to her mouth.

"The third usually presents himself as friendly, especially to the younger generation. I wouldn't be surprised if no one under the age of twenty knew what he's like when he's angry." Sasuke doesn't know how to respond but the woman is expecting an answer so he just turns his head.

"Yeah, I guess." It's spoken quietly and the kunoichi gives no visible response but Sasuke has a feeling that she heard every word.

The duo walks outside into the cold autumn air. Sasuke shivers, he failed to anticipate the drop in temperature this morning but was too stubborn to go back and replace his short sleeve shirt. Kanami glances at him, searching.

"You have a jacket?" Well he didn't expect that. Sasuke shrugs putting his hands in his pockets trying to feign nonchalance.

"No." The woman stares for a moment more and sighs heavily. Shaking her head, the woman rubs her hands together then slaps him on the shoulder. The ten-year-old bends under the force. Sasuke pouts and rubs his arm.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" She smiles, no that's definitely a smirk, waving a dismissive hand over his short figure.

"You were shivering." Sasuke has to think before her statement really sinks in. He wasn't cold anymore. Hurriedly lifting his short sleeve, Sasuke finds absolutely nothing on his arm. Frustration, with a side of childish awe, curls inside of his chest and he calls out.

"Hey! What did you do?" He catches up and tries to keep pace with Kanami's longer legs. "It's not a seal so what'd you do? What kind of jutsu is that? You didn't use any hand signs." The woman hums, glancing at him.

"Chakra." Well that tells him nothing. He huffs, frustration increasing. Sasuke doesn't even know why he was interacting with this woman, other than his newfound respect. (He wanted to be close with someone, he wanted his family back.) She interrupts his thoughts. "I shot some of my chakra through the tenketsu in your shoulder. We're blood related so chances are high that our chakra frequencies match up. A good dose of fire natured chakra through your system is a good way to warm up." Sasuke didn't even know something like that was possible. This woman is strong.

"Where do you live anyway?" Kanami turns abruptly and stops. The action forces Sasuke to stumble in order to keep from running her over. Not that he could. Sasuke had a feeling that no one but the Hokage could force this woman to do anything.

"My apartment is on the north side of town, let's eat while we wait for those genin to deliver your stuff." She looks away from Sasuke, glancing at someone across the street before focusing back onto him. "What do you say?" Sasuke grunts an affirmative. He tries to see what the woman was looking at but nothing stands out to him. Just a fruit stand with a long line in front of it.

"Ramen okay with you?" Sasuke shrugs. He didn't have an opinion on ramen. It was just food. Unlike that orange idiot who was obsessed with the stuff. Kanami holds the fabric sign out of the way and sits down at one of the stools. Sasuke follows, briefly wondering where he should sit. Kanami turns and raises an eyebrow. Message received. Sasuke sits next to her and glances at the menu while ordering. "A bowl of Tonkotsu with extra noodles please." The man behind the counter nods and looks to Sasuke as he starts on the noodles and broth for Kanami's order.

"Shoyu, without the menma." A derogatory glance from Kanami compels Sasuke to force out a please under his breath. The cook simply chuckles and continues his work. An comfortable silence falls over the two, something Sasuke is unused to. People always try to talk to him, offer him gifts or condolences, even ask how he's doing in the academy. He hated it.

All he wanted was to defeat that traitor. Take revenge for the entire Uchiha clan. (No matter how much it hurt.)

Kanami was different. She didn't seem to care if he existed at all, which was strangely comforting. Sasuke glanced at the woman beside him. At first glance she didn't look like an Uchiha, the prime example was her brown hair, it was dark but not black like Sasuke's. Longer observation revealed similarities. The slant of their eyes was the same, as was the shape of their chins. Sasuke's memories of his family had started to fade, but he could recognize himself in the kunoichi by his side.

The man doled out their meals and slid them across the counter. Sasuke silently broke apart his chopsticks and mixed the steaming broth, still glancing at Kanami. The kunoichi wasn't ignorant of Sasuke's observation, accepting the inevitable curiosity from the ten-year-old. The silence continued, both ninja comfortable without meaningless small talk.

Kanami placed the bills for her meal on the counter, gracefully standing from her stool in order to leave. Sasuke followed suit, hopping from his own seat, glad that the woman didn't try and pay for his food. The coddling that people tried to subject him to was irritating and a waste of time.

"This way." Kanami walked at a slower pace, this time accounting for Sasuke's shorter legs. As they made their way to the woman's apartment, whispers grew around them. Civilians talking to each other, trying to guess who was with the last Uchiha. Sasuke's fists clenched angrily. Why did they always do that? They whispered no matter what, whether he walked with someone or was alone. It was never ending!

His train of thought stuttered to an abrupt end when Kanami, face blank except for the slight narrowing of her brow, picked him up and jumped to the roof of the building beside them. Sasuke suppressed a shriek. His hands gripped tightly onto her vest, scrunching the sturdy material.

"I hate it when people mutter, it's really rude." Sasuke tried to stare at the woman but any effort he could have made was interrupted by his position over her shoulder.

"What?" He breathed, incredulously. The woman just tightened her arm over Sasuke's knees.

"Get ready. Don't throw up." Sasuke's eyes widened comically from the warning but couldn't say anything in response before they were flying across the rooftops. Shunshin. Sasuke recognized the jutsu. A burst of speed untraceable by the human eye. He internally prayed for the demise of his old life, left behind in the dust of whatever the hell it was leading now.

It took only a few more jumps before they reached Kanami's apartment building. Landing the way that she did, the woman couldn't see what had captivated Sasuke's gaze. The soft yellow of the walls was marred by large dripping strokes of still wet orange paint. Sasuke wanted to rub his eyes from how bright the color was. The woman bent down and let Sasuke steady himself before standing. She turned, took one look at her building, and sighed. Sasuke glanced at her, about to ask for a clarification, but she spoke before he could.

"There's a kid that goes around pranking people and throwing paint everywhere. This is the fifth time this year that he's targeted my building." Sasuke held back his reaction. With that description it had to be that idiot Naruto. Only the blonde could think to paint something that same horrifying shade of orange.

"Naruto." The woman looks down at Sasuke, tilting her head curiously. Sasuke sighs. "Some idiot from my class, he likes to prank people." Kanami huffs, recognizing the name.

"Ah, the Uzumaki kid." The brunette rolls her eyes and starts walking up the stairs. Sasuke follows her, trepidation rising. "Unfortunately for him, property damage isn't the same as a prank." She opens the door leading the third-floor hallway. Kanami catches Sasuke's gaze. "Although from what I see he just wants attention." Scoffing, Sasuke steps through the doorway.

"Yeah that sounds right." At the woman's silence, he pauses. Looking back at Kanami he feels that he's disappointed her somehow, though nothing shows on her face. The woman doesn't say anything the rest of the way to her apartment. When she opens the door, Sasuke blinks in surprise.

It's big. Much bigger than the one room apartment he lives, lived, in. There's an actual genkan at the front door instead of just a tiled area to change into slippers. The boy unzips his sandals, setting them down carefully, and takes the plain white slippers when Kanami hands them to him.

The walk down the hallway is almost awkward. Previously their silences were an agreed kind of thing. This time Sasuke is sure he upset her somehow. The boy grips his fist. Why does he suddenly care so much about what one stranger thinks? He didn't even know she existed until a few hours ago!

 _Shrrrk!_ Kanami motions him over to the dining table chair she pulled out. Sasuke sits, still trying to figure out what he did wrong. The kunoichi doesn't say anything. Only moving to pull her hair down. Untied it reaches her elbow, perfectly straight. Languidly she crosses her arms, face still blank.

Sasuke looks around the room, avoiding conversation. The soft blue paint of the large living room was continued into the kitchen, giving both rooms a dreamy kind of quality. Surprisingly, at least to him, there was a lot of stuff everywhere. Not trash, just stuff. The table was clean, only marred by a few deep scratches. Sasuke glanced to the living room. A couch sat with a fluffy looking throw blanket tossed over it. A bunch of mismatched pillows graced both the love seat and the armchair, some spilling onto the floor from lack of room.

The kitchen was an organized mess to put it simply. Tools were gathered in their places but there appeared to be no type of holder for them. There was a knife block but Sasuke could see at least three of them that were stuck into a bulletin board with recipes hanging from it. Sasuke glanced back at the woman. She quirked an eyebrow.

"Did I do something wrong?" Sasuke grimaces. That's not what he meant to say. Kanami's mouth twitches into a small smile, eyes soft.

"No. Just unexpected. It seems your point of view is not as mature as I believed."

"Huh?" He means it this time. What the hell is she talking about? Points of view? "You're not making any sense!" The exclamation is tinged with confusion and indignation. Sasuke leans forward. "I'm mature." Kanami tilts her head.

"Wanting people to know you're alive." Sasuke blinks. Where did that come from? The woman sighs. "I think Uzumaki-kun plays pranks on people in order to get attention. For him, any attention is good attention. I also believe he goes too far because no one has told him, in terms he can understand, that it hurts people." Seeing Sasuke's continued incomprehension, she continues. "As a kid in the orphanage, I had a similar problem." He flinches. Mind racing with this new thought. Did Naruto, that massive pain in the ass, really feel that way? He was loud, and annoying. Always pushing Sasuke into a fight. Before Sasuke had thought it was malicious, just another way people wanted to bother him.

Kanami smiles, then stands.

"I'll make some tea."


	5. Chapter 5

The twenty ninth day. Kanami hadn't been able to sleep. In the past month she'd lived in the horrible silence of her apartment, the absence of life haunting her. But the brunette had gotten used to it. Sasuke had been unexpected but welcome. The Hokage on the other hand continued to plummet in her estimation of his character. Forcing two people, one of which is a minor, to live together was beyond bizarre. Not to mention Kanami did not appreciate being ordered around by that irritating old people. Council of Elders, bah! More like council of fools.

The kunoichi turned in her bed, the huge green sheet bunching around her. The kid wasn't bad by any means. A bit arrogant and it was a little depressing just looking at him but overall Sasuke Uchiha was a good kid. Kanami sighed, she sat up and brushed the long strands out of her face. The sun had risen a little over an hour ago, she was just being lazy. Time to get up and face the ambush.

Her hard wood floor had warmed underneath the morning sun's rays, giving Kanami a good spot to complete her morning stretches. Although she had to move one of the dressers, lesson learned from the last time her head knocked against it. She sat down and began. Each muscle was worked to its limit and then some. Flexibility had saved Kanami from some bad situations, missions and otherwise, in the past and she never forgot it.

Plus, it looked cool.

A rush of water alerted Kanami to an awakened Sasuke. Slowly, the kunoichi rose from the veritable pretzel she'd turned her body into and went to get dressed. The dressers were ignored for the walk-in closet. Kanami dismissed the formal kimono at the front of her closet, Natsumi-sensei would be proud, and went straight to her yukata. It was a family visit not a wedding. Although…

Kanami side-eyed her training gear. She went with her instincts. After the black shorts were tugged on she wrapped the ends with white bandages. Satisfied with her maneuverability, which was tested with a few squats and stretches, the kunoichi zipped on a tight fitting black turtleneck over the opaque mesh body suit she was never seen without.

The yukata she chose was important, the Hyuga were a formal clan. There was no need to embarrass herself when she was already on a slippery slope with the elders. An almost hidden pattern caught her eye. The soft pink material slid softly over Kanami's shoulders, uninterrupted by the clothes she already wore. Purple asters and white chrysanthemums flowed together, creating a beautiful gradient down the entire garment.

As she was leaving a glance at her jewelry box made her pause. The simple chain was something her sensei had gotten for her, a present for her chunin exams. It was shinobi quality steel molded into a long chain of falsely delicate links. She had brought it on every infiltration mission she'd ever had, it was a sort of good luck charm now.

The kunoichi looped it twice around her neck, the spinning clasp holding far more securely than any civilian piece of jewelry.

Kanami stepped quietly into the living room, looking for her new roommate. They had moved all of Sasuke's possessions into the apartment last night. He had no furniture and a meager amount of clothes. The only thing the boy had multiples of were training scrolls. Even those fit into just one large box.

Sasuke was reading a book from one of the many shelves around the room, seated cross legged on the couch. He looked up, face shifting from impassive to curious.

"Special occasion?" Kanami shook her head and sat next to the boy.

"I am visiting my god daughter today. Her family is very formal and I am not on very good terms with the elders." Sasuke snorted.

"No one is on good terms with elders." They give each other slight commiserating looks. Sasuke's face turns curious again. "You look too young to have a god daughter." Kanami raised an eyebrow. Sasuke pouted in return, knowing he's being teased.

"I'm twenty-four and Hinata-chan is my sensei's daughter, I helped choose her name." Sasuke paused for a moment then leaned toward Kanami.

"Hinata Hyuga? The weirdo?" In a burst of movement Kanami's hands pinch Sasuke's cheeks stretching firmly as gives him a light glare.

"Yes, so watch your mouth. That's my precious god daughter your speaking so rudely about." Sasuke eyes were blown wide, he seemed slightly concussed as he gripped Kanami's wrists, trying to get her to let go. The action was a familiar one. Kanami had always loved children and cheek squishing was her number one way of showing displeasure. The woman kept at the stretching and squishing of his face until he forced out an agreement. "Good." Sasuke shot her a mild glare, pouting and rubbing his cheeks all the while. She merely chuckled and placed her forehead on his apologetically. (Family)

Kanami froze.

She forcefully sat back from Sasuke's personal space, face blank. The boy looked shocked but the small blush on his pale cheeks gave his embarrassment away. Unlike Kanami, who's face, when seeing Sasuke's blush, promptly set itself on fire. Why did she do that? She just met the boy, he wasn't family yet!

Turning away from him, the brunette cleared her throat.

"Sasuke?" Good. Her voice wasn't betraying her. There was a questioning hum from behind her. "I can never braid my hair correctly; do you know how?" Stupid excuse. Kanami knew how to style her hair with kanzashi blind folded, braids never troubled her. But the kunoichi's vice had always been pride. She'd sacrifice a minor piece to save the entire chunk. Sasuke swallowed audibly.

"Uh, we learned knots in the academy?" Kanami bit her lip. Of course he's not going to know how to braid! He has no one to teach him! Sasuke shifted behind the kunoichi, she forced words out to save herself further humiliation.

"Braids are different. If I give you instructions, can you follow along?" The boy scoffed.

"It's just hair, how hard can it be?"

Kanami wore Sasuke's lopsided seventh try proudly. It was near ten that they finally left the apartment. A brief squabble about Sasuke's clothing did break out but Kanami's incredulous 'Is that the only thing you wear, really?' forced Sasuke to change into the slightly more formal, but still shinobi quality, dark blue pants and black shirt he had hidden in the bottom of his bags.

The walk to the Hyuga compound was smattered with muffled chuckles from Kanami and embarrassed pouting from the ten-year-old walking with her. Both woman and boy wondered about the easy camaraderie that had come into fruition in the space of one night. It was still awkward, there were a lot of landmines to uncover or avoid, but it seemed that living with each other was a good outcome of a bad situation. Kanami looked at her, well what was Sasuke to her? Certainly not a son, maybe ward was the most appropriate term, nephew?

"Sasuke." The boy glanced up at Kanami, pout slipping from his face.

"What?" The kunoichi opens her mouth but is interrupted by a loud explosion. Kanami whips around to face where the sound came from and clicks her tongue when she sees the large plume of smoke. Almost too fast to see, the kunoichi unties her obi and throws it to Sasuke.

"Why are you stripping?!" Sasuke's voice is high pitched and slightly muffled as he tries to cover his eyes.

"Sasuke!" He opens his eyes just in time for her to fling her yukata and juban at him, leaving her in the training clothes she thankfully had the foresight to be wearing. She grins at his shocked face. Surprising people was a guilty pleasure. "Stay out of the way, don't get my stuff dirty." His answer is lost in the motion of her shunshin.

The civilian buildings are very thoroughly on fire by the time Kanami arrives. A school, from the sign out front. People are screaming and running, trying to get away from the blaze. Many seem to be bystanders caught up in the incident. The kunoichi ignores them, searching for any other ninja at the scene. She approaches when her search reveals a familiar face.

"What's the situation?" Anko Mitarashi turns, and whoops when she recognizes the other Kunoichi.

"Kanami!" Her joy at seeing her friend isn't the least tampered as she remembers the situation. "There was a big ass explosion under the street that ripped right the fuck through the gym's gas lines. No one was in there. The fire jumped before anyone could try and stop the damn thing. A bunch of chunin dousing it with Suiton jutsu but so far getting to the tikes trapped has really shitty chances." Kanami closes her eyes, seeking out the small chakra signatures.

"I can get to them." Anko smirks widely.

"Let's do it." Kanami turns to her, hands on her hips.

"I need five minutes and a doorway that's not about to collapse." The brunette pauses, pointing. "And that guy's scarf." Anko shouts out orders to the chunin and when the man in question dawdles, the feisty tokubetsu jonin just rips it off his neck and tosses it to her friend. Kanami deftly wraps the scarf around her badly braided hair and runs through a series of hand signs.

"Katon: Yoroi!" The jutsu coats Kanami's entire body in glowing, half solidified, heat absorbent chakra. The brunette starts her shunshin fueled search, using her chakra sense to find the trapped students. She spots a group of three cowering in the middle of a hallway. Kanami makes no effort to comfort them, lifting two under her arms and shouting at the last to get on her back. When she feels that he's holding tight, Kanami bursts out of the building nearby a Suiton blasting chunin.

She reenters the same way, keeping her time limit in mind. Even shinobi had trouble with exposure to smoke, if not treated by a med-nin. Civilian kids were in a much more dangerous position, especially in such a large fire.

If Kanami dawdled even a little, it might be too late to help them.

The kunoichi darted up the stairs to the second floor. She could sense two kids this time, but they were moving franticly. Probably panicking. Kicking the wooden door out of her way, Kanami was blasted with heat and noxious air. Higher up meant more smoke which equaled less time. The small flares of chakra weren't any less frantic. Good they weren't sitting idle. But also, bad. Increased activity meant more smoke inhalation. With a shove, the brunette opened the classroom door.

Two girls were screaming, weakly pounding at the large, half-opened windows on the far side of the room. At Kanami's entrance they turned, sobbing. The shorter one tried to talk but had no time as the woman threw the nearest desk, shattering the double paned glass. In a hasty movement, Kanami grabbed both by the waists and jumped outside, landing heavily in the dirt. The woman didn't have time to be gentle, simply dropping the two on the dirt before turning back to the school.

She hesitated. Two more signatures, weak and on the third floor. Location in mind, Kanami shunshined to a third-floor window, shattering it on impact. The kunoichi scanned the entire floor, trying to pinpoint the last people. A ping on her radar. The other side of the hallway.

Fuck it. The shunshin blasted her through the hallway, displacing fumes, and smoke as she passed. The bathroom door had been wedged shut, probably in effort to block the spread of flames. It would have been more effective if the building hadn't been made completely out of wood. The door was busted down with ease, leaving Kanami staring at a girl shaking the unconscious boy lying next to her.

"Get on my back." The girl looks at Kanami, tears in her eyes. The kunoichi's eyes narrow. "Now!" The kid obeys sniffling in her ear. The boy is carried to Kanami's chest, in effort to not break his limp neck. The window she entered through is also the kunoichi's exit, trailing glass as the edges catch on her bare legs. The landing is rough, enough to make Kanami stumble. Although, that could also be exhaustion from using so much chakra. Yoroi was not a light chakra cost whatsoever.

Panting, Kanami set down the two before releasing the temperature absorption jutsu. Tiredly, the kunoichi wiped the sweat off of her forehead, smearing the ash that had settled there. Anko slinked over.

"Yo, need a medic?" Kanami shakes her head, sighing heavily. The purple haired woman offers a hand. Kanami takes it, smiling gratefully. Anko just grins and slaps her back. "It's good to finally fucking see you." The brunette nods, keeping her face carefully blank.

"I'm, not ready. To come around. But." The stilted message is loud and clear to the other woman. Anko laughed loudly, there was really nothing else to say. Kanami was healing and that's all she, and the others, needed to know.

"Get an incident report in too! I'll have all kinds of people up my ass if you don't!" Waving, Kanami watched Anko flit around, terrorizing the chunin for paperwork. Internally she laughed. It surprised people that Anko actually cared about bureaucracy; which wasn't true. She just has good self-preservation instincts. Ibiki held high standards.

Glancing around, Kanami caught sight of Sasuke outside the civilian protection line that had been set up. She faintly smiled at the boy when she caught his eye, nodding as he waved her over with a short shake of his head.

Approaching the line, civilians started crowding her-. Kanami internally rolled her eyes at herself. She'd use his name, familiarity had more effect when scaring off vultures.

"Sasuke. Take good care of my stuff?" The boy didn't pout this time, his eyebrows just twitched irritably. At the sight of a shinobi the people retreated. Civilians failed to be subtle like that. What was with the harsh sentiments against civilians lately? Normally Kanami was perfectly polite to them. Glancing at Sasuke, she supposed she knew why.

The kunoichi should learn to hide her weakness for kids better.

"Your clothes are heavy and you look horrible." The kunoichi cocked her head and mussed his hair gently. "Hey!" Kanami smiled as she crossed the meager barrier that kept the onlookers out. She ushered Sasuke through the crowd, ignoring anyone that tried to talk to her. Training that weakness could wait for another day.

"Sorry Sasuke." He looked away, this time definitely pouting. Kanami tilted her head. "Hey, let's do something. As an apology for the interruption." Sasuke, unconsciously, held her yukata close to his chest.

"Weren't you going to see your god daughter?" Kanami stops walking, tilting her head at his back. When Sasuke realizes she's not beside him he turns back. He looks, sad. Kanami huffs.

"I can visit Hinata tomorrow, I like to pay my debts as soon as possible. Besides they won't even let me into the compound looking like this." Sasuke's eyes are wide.

"Whatever." He looks back at Kanami questioningly. "Why do you have a scarf on anyway?" The brunette chuckles softly, unwinding the dirty garment and tossing it over the fence beside her.

"It took forever to get my hair like this." Sasuke looks at her judgingly. Kanami returns the look. "You own four outfits, three of them are identical."

"It's practical!" They bicker the entire way to the training ground.

Training ground twelve was boring, nondescript, average. Which is just what Kanami was looking for. Her chakra had been pretty well spent by her armor jutsu, but it's not like she needed advanced techniques. Her opponent was an academy student.

There was something weird about his attitude though. Ever since they got to the training ground he'd been stiff. Kanami had taken back her clothes, freeing up his hands to stuff themselves into his pockets. His glare had hatred in it, a leftover from Itachi. The look was easily recognizable. Kanami had felt it every time she'd thought about Orochimaru.

They faced each other in the middle of the clearing, Sasuke tense. He had fallen into the basic academy Taijutsu starting stance. It was textbook perfect. (Let's ruin it a little.) Kanami bent her knees, lowering her center of gravity. The moment was still.

Sasuke bursts forward in a flurry of movement. She side-steps. One hand on his forehead was enough to knock him on his back. Kanami quirks an eyebrow.

"I'm sure your teacher has taught you sparring etiquette." The boy glares at her hatefully. Kanami is nonplussed. "Seal of intention at the start, then the seal of unison." The boy swipes a leg at her ankles, disregarding her statement. Kanami withstands the attack. A ten-year-old's strength, even shinobi trained, was nothing. Sasuke's eyes widen. Looking up at her with shock, his muscles go lax.

The kunoichi crouches down, arms on her knees. Sasuke tries to be enraged but it falls away. The expression is, lost. Kanami tilts her head as she tries to figure out what the most appropriate course of action is. Sasuke clenches his hands, nails biting into the flesh of his palms.

"I have to kill him. Training seals don't matter, nothing matters except my revenge!" Kanami reaches out, coaxing his hands open. There's pinpricks of blood where his nails broke through. Sasuke looks at her, hatred and desperation fill his eyes. He tries to speak again but she interrupts him.

"Hush. Blind hatred is useless, all it harms is yourself." Kanami looks up from his hands, straight into the dark eyes they share. "A desire for revenge is not something I will stifle but you must remember that strength is not everything." He's desperate, still angry. Uncomprehending of what she's trying to say.

"Strength is what I need to kill him!" Kanami shakes her head enveloping his small hands in her own. She decides on another route.

"Why do you need to kill Itachi?" He tries to shake off her hold but she's steadfast.

"He killed my family, just to test his power!"

"So?" He reels. "Many families are killed. What makes yours so special that you seek revenge?" He blinks, clearly shaken.

"I-." Kanami sighs.

"Strength is nothing when there is nothing to use it for. People can break even the staunchest of limits when what they love is endangered. That's how I developed this." Her Sharingan spins into existence. Sasuke gasps, anger vanishing.

"Really?" Kanami's smile is pained.

"Yes. I remember every detail, every millisecond, of when the ones closest to me were killed. There was no reason, no justification for their deaths and I love them still." Sasuke is dreadfully close to crying now. "I will avenge them, he will pay, but I refuse to live for him. I live to protect my friends. I live because my village needs me, and now so do you, my only family. That is what I will protect with my strength." She reaches out, wiping the stream of tears from his cheeks.

"I-I don't k-know what to l-live for." Kanami smiles, hugging Sasuke tightly.

"That's okay. We can figure it out together."


	6. Interlude

_Location: Border of Rain and Fire  
Date: March 31_ _st_ _  
Age: 10_

Kanami had spent a month in this hell hole and, frankly, wanted to go home. The cots were lumpier than those at the orphanage, the new sandals she'd been given were stiff and a size too big, and she had to deal with all the idiots who judged her because of her age.

Gritting her teeth, Kanami blasted the tree trunk she'd been hitting for the past hour with the full force of her chakra enhanced leg. The wood cracked and bent threateningly at the blow. The preteen huffed in frustration. They were at war. People should coddle actual children, not soldiers. Besides, she was a chunin not some fresh-eyed genin new to fighting. Kanami flopped on the ground and threw off her sandals. The damn things hurt more than they helped and the girl was not in the business of being a liability. What idiot issued too big sandals anyway?

Rustling broke Kanami's concentration. The quiet clearing was silent now, no animals or wind to distract her. The kunoichi rose and palmed a kunai, turning slowly while she tried to locate the chakra around the camp. Konoha shinobi where they should be, Sensei sleeping in the barracks, a fair number of them eating. But on the very edge of her wide range senses, two signatures Kanami didn't recognize.

The girl turned to run back to camp but was blasted into the ground. Grunting in pain, Kanami rolled to the side, avoiding the shuriken. She bent her body and flipped from her hands onto her bare feet. The shinobi who'd gotten the drop on her was in his twenties and built like the fucking Hokage mountain. His headband was emblazoned with Iwagakure's symbol.

Kanami spotted the kunai she dropped and darted forward. The enemy shinobi tried to grab her but missed as she rolled forward on the ground. The girl swiped up her kunai but was jerked back. The guy caught the edge of her unwrapped hakama. He dragged her by the leg into his range, grabbing her by the throat. Kanami coated herself in fire chakra. The guy yelped, releasing her. She flipped her grip on the kunai and in two short motions, relieved him of his insides.

As she raced back to camp Kanami stretched her sensing. Now that she knew what to look for, the hidden contingent of shinobi was obvious. They surrounded the entire outpost.

The girl flared her chakra, setting off the shinobi on lookout. But she alerted the enemy as well. In an instant the entire camp was entrenched in battle. Kanami took out three kunoichi before she had a clear shot at the barracks. The two low bearing buildings were at the center of camp, highly defensible but a very big target. Natsumi-sensei had gotten injured in a border skirmish only the day before. There was no way the kunoichi was healed from the wind jutsu, not enough to fight.

In effort to get to her sensei, the preteen raced through camp, distracting some of the enemy long enough for her comrades to kill or capture them. But all that was on Kanami's mind was getting to Natsumi-sensei. Someone had drenched the area in a water jutsu, liquefying the soft dirt into sticky mud. Kanami's reinforced hakama stuck to the sludge, weighing her down. The brunette channeled chakra to her feet to avoid slowing, she had to get to the barracks.

When Kanami arrived, the attacking shinobi had already begun their assault. Natsumi-sensei was surrounded by three of them, Byakugan activated.

"Hey asshole!" The shinobi facing away from Kanami twitched, turning her head and giving the Hyuga enough of a distraction to blow out the tenketsu over her heart. The other two, the dead woman's team, attacked. Kanami launched herself, shoving one of them to the ground with her body weight. A quick slash of her fire coated kunai was all that she needed.

Rising from her target, Kanami turned just in time to see her sensei's opponent launched back. The Hyuga turned to her student, stumbling. The large slash on her back had opened up and started to bleed. Kanami ran to the woman's side, supporting her. Natsumi panted, trying to talk through the pain.

"Kanami-chan, help the others." The preteen grit her teeth.

"I need to help you though." Natsumi sighed at the response, looking at her student with expectation. Kanami gave a sharp nod. "Fine, Sensei. But I'm taking you to the medics first." Before the woman could argue, Kanami shifted the Hyuga onto her back and rushed to the medic's tent. Luckily, it was only a few yards from the barracks. The girl said nothing to the med-nin as she dropped her Sensei off, simply running to the fight.

It felt like hours as Kanami raced between battles. Providing distractions or using her fire chakra to blast away a shinobi who got too close to an ally. Twice, the enemy almost got the drop on Kanami. Bruises and shallow cuts decorated her arms and face from the fights.

Panting, the brunette dispatched her opponent. Whirling around to meet the next one, Kanami paused. There was no one left. Glancing with both her sight and her chakra sense, nothing stood out. There were only familiar signatures around her. Sighing, the preteen relaxed her stance and started the trek back to her sensei.

The medic tent was bustling with activity. The scents of blood and antiseptic surrounded the entire area. Kanami ignored everyone else, heading in a straight path to Natsumi. The woman was seated on one of the cots, resting. At her student's approach the Hyuga opened her eyes and smiled.

"You fought well. We'll go over what you could have done better in training." Kanami nodded, agreeing with the criticism, and shuffled closer to her sensei. The girl stood next to the cot, half guarding and half observing. The medics had a few bad wounds to treat, one woman was missing a leg, but overall no one was too badly injured. Few of their allies had died. It was now a prerogative to assess the camp and get the information of the attack to their superiors.

"Sensei?'

"What is it Kanami-chan?" Natsumi turned to Kanami, awaiting her question. Looking at her injured Sensei, the girl clenched her hands into fists.

"Nothing." The Hyuga looked at her, concerned, but let it go. After a moment the woman spoke up.

"Kanami-chan, where are your sandals?"

* * *

Two familiar signatures ping Kanami's chakra sense. The girl shoots up, having fallen asleep without knowing it. The shinobi are fast, way too fast and headed straight to the medical tent. The girl straps on her new tanto and zips up her black chunin vest, racing out to intercept the incoming shinobi. Kanami has practically no chakra to flare, so she can't alert the camp or use actual jutsu if the fight gets ugly. Fire natured enhancements only.

At the edge of camp, the girl steadies herself. She's still barefoot, her blue hakama stained with mud, and her kosode is torn in multiple places. The brunette looks horrible and her chakra is almost at its limit.

The signatures don't seem to have noticed Kanami, keeping along their straight path. The girl lowers her stance and coats a rock in fire chakra to use as a distraction. When the shinobi get close, Kanami flings it towards them and races to get behind the duo. The rock explodes, distracting the taller shinobi. The short one with a hood has already spotted her, turning to face the girl. He's not wearing a headband that she can see and to her blurry, exhausted brain, that's all Kanami needs to know.

Unsheathing her tanto takes only a second. Coating it in fire natured chakra takes half that. Her opponent's chakra feels about her age, which is weird but Kanami ignores it and goes for his throat. The boy flips back, throwing a kunai. The kunoichi slices through it, meting the weapon when her chakra touches it. Kanami tenses, launching herself forward but is stopped by a hand grabbing her by the back of her kosode. She attempts to slash at the hand behind her but her tanto is deftly wrangled from her grip. Kanami's chakra had cut out only a moment before, exhaustion weakening her control.

"We're shinobi of Konoha. Please stop, you're hurting yourself." The man had a smooth voice, almost lilting. Kanami minutely relaxed, twisting to see the man's headband. He let go of the her, flipping down his hood and holding his hands out to calm the girl. Kanami stared at the man in shock.

Minato Namikaze. No one didn't know that face, or that hair, Kanami blushed in humiliation. She'd tried to attack the Yellow Flash. Natsumi-sensei was definitely going to disown her. The kid behind her sighed in aggravation.

"Hey since you're done attacking allies, can we go now?" Kanami could feel the vein pulsing in her neck. Whipping around, the kunoichi glared at the boy.

"Kakashi. I should've known." The masked boy let his hood fall as well, revealing his stupidly white hair. The two glared at each other. The duo's dislike was common knowledge, especially in their age group. It was a race of skill. Who could do this first, better, stronger, faster.

She was totally winning.

"We've got some important information to pass along, uh, sorry I don't know your name kunoichi-san." Minato smiled apologetically. Kanami turned and bowed, speaking clearly.

"Chunin Kanami Hisakawa, sir." Kakashi huffed, unimpressed. Kanami rolled her eyes focusing pointedly on Minato. "The camp was attacked a short time ago, I apologize for my hasty actions." Minato's gaze turned flinty.

"Then the information we have is even more crucial. Let's go." The three turned and ran to the camp, Kanami lagging slightly behind.

The camp still smells like blood by the time they arrive. Kakashi following his sensei's pace doggedly. The blonde rushes to the commander's tent, leaving the two preteens standing outside. Kanami crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.

"So, where's the rest of your team Hatake?" Kakashi glares at the girl, crossing his own arms as he responds.

"Rin and the idiot are back in the village on leave." Chuckling mockingly, Kanami looks down at the slightly shorter kid. Kakashi bristles and growls out, "What?"

"Nothing, just." Kanami shrugs, looking up. "I'm glad I don't have to have a team, like you." Kakashi's eyebrow twitches.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kakashi steps up into her personal space. Kanami turns fully to face her, if she was being honest, rival and smirks.

"I still have an apprenticeship with Natsumi-sensei but you have a team now. I don't know, I guess," The girl shrugs and places her hands on her hips, "it's just another thing I'm better at."

* * *

The shouting erupts just as Minato finishes his report. He's waved off by Commander Sato, who turns back to the map in front of him.

Curiously, the blond exits the tent and comes face to face with a circle of cheering shinobi. A glimpse into the circle reveals his student and the girl, Kanami, wrestling in the mud. He's kind of dumbfounded. The girl had looked like a shrine maiden when they met, if Minato went by looks alone. Her clothes and the Hime cut of her straight black hair lent themselves to a serious appearance, but that perception was officially shattered. Both she and Kakashi were covered in mud and were trying their hardest to plant the other's face in it.

Minato really wanted to bust out laughing. Many of his classmates, mainly Chōza, had gossiped about Kakashi and his rival but until now Minato had believed they'd been talking about Gai. Suddenly the story about Kakashi's rival who boiled his food by just touching it made a lot of sense.

A high-pitched squawk escaped Kanami's mouth as his student succeeded in mashing her face into the mud. Kakashi rolled off of the girl, panting but victorious. The girl stood calmly wiping her face as she called out.

"Hey, Hatake!" The boy turned and barely ducked in time as Kanami threw the mud she'd just removed from her face. Kakashi turned back to her but was caught by the mud-covered hand slathering a giant glob of it on his face. Grinning, the girl rubbed her drying hands on Kakashi's shirt as the boy stood there in shock. "Everything you do first, I do better." With a final victorious huff, the girl walked away.

Minato flashed to Kakashi's side, still trying to contain the laughter. The boy was scraping mud off of his face and looked like he was about to explode in irritation. Look at his little face! The blond couldn't help it.

"Kakashi, why didn't you tell me you had a girlfriend?"


	7. Chapter 6

My apologies at the late date. Midterms disrupted my schedule, then life took over. I hope to post again over winter break.

* * *

Day thirty. Kanami wakes with a gasp and a heavily beating heart. Memories of the war always seem to sneak up on her. Blood, heat, the stench of rotting corpses and dried tears haven't haunted her in a while. The sheet Kanami had wrapped around herself last night laid jumbled on the floor. Sasuke's soft snores filling the usual silence of her apartment.

Kanami rose from her bed and settled on the floor, trying to distract herself. Her stretches are done in silence, it's almost six in the morning and Kanami isn't going to take the chance of disturbing her ward. He needs every bit of sleep he can get. When she finishes the kunoichi rolls to her feet smoothly, tossing her clothes in the hamper as she passes. The shower is methodical, steam doesn't even have enough time to completely fog the bathroom mirror before she's done. A quick Suiton jutsu dries her hair in less than a second. Kanami dumps the resulting ball of water down the drain.

The mirror is clear as she brushes her hair. The brunette sighs at her cheeks, they're paler than usual. A clear sign that she's not sleeping well. Kanami washes her face, tossing the towel onto the counter when she's done. The mess makes her feel better somehow.

Bracing her hands against the counter, Kanami rubs the back of her neck. It's too much. Everything is too much. The combination of Sasuke's impending return to school, that failure of a training session yesterday, and the negligible answers about the seal on her neck had gotten to her more than she thought they would. The brunette glances over her body's reflection.

Pink scar tissue stands out starkly against Kanami's pale skin, from both blades and flames. The small nicks and lines on her arms and legs are dwarfed by the large, almost bisecting, surgical scar on her stomach. Her back is even worse from the self-inflicted burns. No matter how much the brunette stares, her ruined body stays the same.

Kanami sighs and heads to her closet.

Per the Hokage's orders, Kanami has to walk Sasuke to the academy. And as much as the kunoichi hates being a pawn for whatever game the politicians are playing, she's not in the business of presenting herself as anything less than impeccable. Or being charged with treason for not following orders. She pauses in front of the closet doorway, reconsidering the colorful training garb she was about to put on. Turning back to the dresser by her bed, Kanami grabs her mission clothes. Black is the singular color on every piece of clothing, from her hakama to the skin-tight sleeveless turtleneck she zips her flak jacket over. Satisfied with her appearance, the kunoichi straps on her tanto and goes to make breakfast.

Sasuke wakes up halfway through her attempt at making egg and cheese omelets. By the time she's given up and plated the scrambled eggs and steamed rice, he'd finished dressing for the day. A liberal amount of fire chakra channeled into her hands heats up the miso soup she barely had the time to prepare, leaving it steaming.

The boy opens his door almost gingerly. The faint cursing made him curious but cautious of whatever the hell was happening in the kitchen. When he saw nothing too amiss, Sasuke ambled into the room and sat stiffly at his chair.

"Are you actually going to walk me to the academy?" Kanami leans back from the half-hidden counter, frowning slightly at his question. She nods.

"Yes. Unfortunately for us, we are now a part of someone's political agenda. Which means what the Hokage says goes. Most likely he's trying to help us out of some sort of misplaced guilt." Her response is exasperated and she rolls her eyes. Sasuke quirks an eyebrow, questioning. Kanami shakes her head and straightens. There's a faint click as the woman finishes up her project. Sasuke's other brow joins the one high on his forehead at her clothes.

"You look like you're going to go kill someone." The way he says it is kind of breathless. She's managed to impress him. Kanami sets the bento down on the table between them and sits. Her chopsticks are handled expertly as she eats, making Sasuke more aware of his shoveling.

"There is only one time that you meet someone. Only one chance to make a first impression. I intend to make it so no one attempts to make a move on your perceived weakened state." She finishes with a sip of miso. Sasuke huffs, involuntarily tightening his grip on the chopsticks.

"I am not weak." Kanami looks at him, her head tilted.

"No. You're not."

The sight of the Academy makes Sasuke tense up, like a cat preparing for a fight. Kanami brushes her hand against his shoulder but doesn't make a scene of it. The kid needs reassurance, not a whimpering show of support. Plus, Kanami is an established kunoichi. One glance at her is enough to warn off any civilians trying to politically maneuver.

The cries of children meet the duo at the Academy's short gate. Kanami stops, turning to Sasuke and handing him the carefully wrapped bento.

"For lunch." Sasuke nods at her words, eyes a little wider than usual. He pulls back his shoulders stiffly as he turns around. Both kids and parents are staring at them, waiting wondering. Gossip would spread as the day went on. Someone was with the Last Uchiha. An unfamiliar face to anyone that didn't know what was under her mask.

Kanami huffed silently as she shunshined away. She'd keep an eye and ear out on the shinobi grapevine, make personal visits if she had to, no one would make a move on a kid she was responsible for. Keeping that in mind, Kanami changed her plan for the day. Training alone would be a waste of time. But there was one person she could always count on to be ready for a fight.

"Hisakawa-san." The kunoichi paused abruptly at the unfamiliar voice and turned. Standing behind her was a young woman in a very expensive looking kimono. She didn't wear a headband, but there was no way a simple civilian could have such a strong chakra signature. Kanami sighed then spoke.

"Who are you?"

"Uehara Yoko." Her tone was smooth, expectant. Whatever this visit is about, politics are definitely involved. Frowning, Kanami responded.

"I have no interest in council matters. Leave me be." Uehara bowed shallowly and smiled.

"I'll inform Elder Danzo that you have refused his summons then." Kanami's brow furrowed at the almost sing-song quality of the words as she walked away. That woman seemed to know just how to push buttons.

Shrugging off the unpleasant interaction Kanami rushed along towards her, hopefully, willing training partner. The kunoichi didn't even have to use her chakra sense. Gai was always in the same place.


	8. Chapter 8

Traveling through training grounds was a dangerous activity. Twitchy shinobi practicing dangerous jutsu were always going to be a hazard, unless you were ANBU and knew how to completely erase your vital signs. Kanami had a lot of practice with manipulating how her chakra was perceived. Infiltration was a rare assignment for team Ko but Kanami's sensei was nothing if thorough in her teaching.

Chakra damped down to a low hum, the kunoichi darted through the thick branches to Gai's favored training ground. As she ran, Kanami took in the still air and subtle noise of the background wildlife. Nature was something she and Homare _crushedinjureddead._

The woman took a steadying breath, holding back the shivering and locking that thought away. Kanami was not weak. She was better than this, trained for over a decade to control her emotions just like the Inuzuka had studied for years to make his Genjutsu perfect. Kanami waited for the intrusive memories to try and overtake her again and was satisfied when nothing but the sounds of the forest filled her mind. Kanami was at peace in nature but she loved the sky more than anything else, while Setsuka _deaddeaddeadbeforeshecouldblinkthroatrippedoutITSALLYOURFAULT_

Kanami gasped, the sudden clarity of her now activated Sharingan throwing her off balance and causing her to miss the branch she was aiming for. The kunoichi rolled as she met the ground, the grass hard and unforgiving under her knees. Her breathing was rabbit fast. Too fast to get proper oxygen into her lungs. Shivers overtook her body as she remembered.

 _Homare was on point, as he always was, with his ninken Rai only a few feet behind him. Setsuka was to the man's left while Kanami filled the right flank. Warmth infused the back of their cloaks as the sun set behind them. There was only a few more hours to go until they were back in Konoha. Only a few more hours until they were home._

 _Safe._

 _Alive._

 _Homare was hit first. Chakra blinking out. No more breathing. No heart beating. Nothing left to heal. He's deaddeaddead nothing more than barely a corpse. Crushed. Obliterated. His mom will never forgive them. Setsu avoids the water jutsu by inches. Upupup Kanami goes. Chakra blazing. Fire blazing. She'd rip him apart if he showed himself. Where is he where wherewherewhere?!_

"Kanami-san?"

 _Fuck! How does he know her name? She's Lion. Her friends are dead and she's alive that's not how it was supposed to be. Setsuka's throat glints with the blood that was supposed to be inside._

"Are you alright?"

 _Nevernevernevernever again. Not alright not alive. Only in limbo until her time runs out. Fuckfuckfuck. She's gonna die here._

 _Like her friends._

 _At least it's by their side._

"Kanami-san!"

She gasped as Gai slapped her back, forcing her lungs to take in the air they desperately needed and promptly sobbed. Shivers possessed her body like an earthquake as all the grief and sorrow and rage Kanami held inside erupted.

Gai heard through the gossip ladder that something had happened to one of Konoha's best ANBU teams. He had hoped that it wasn't Kakashi. He prayed for his Eternal Rival to come back alive. However, Gai had seen the solitary man shortly after the rumors started, although he was wrapped up with bandages from an injury. The shinobi had put it to the back of his mind and continued with his day.

But now, as he looked at Kanami Hisakawa shaking with the pain of losing something that should never be taken away, now he knows why Setsuka-san hadn't been to Taijutsu practice.

"Kanami-san breathe with me! Seven in four to hold and seven out!" Gai crouched next to the woman, his hand tapping the ground beside them as he counted. Kanami's eyes were shut tightly so he needed something she could track. The sobs wracked through her body, sometimes increasing in severity. But Gai continued to count. Kneeling beside the woman until, eventually, the emotion petered out. Slowly, Kanami wiped her face and turned towards Gai, revealing her Sharingan.

The man was too good of a shinobi to gasp but the shock was plain on his face. Kanami smiled weakly and took a shuddering breath as she spoke.

"I need your help."


End file.
